Obama slams Trump, Republicans while urging Midwest crowds to vote

Former President Barack Obama speaks during a rally in Detroit on Friday. (Associated Press)

Republican

Former President Barack Obama leveled his most direct criticism of President Donald Trump on Friday in speeches in Detroit and Milwaukee while stumping for Democratic candidates.
Not mentioning Trump by name, Obama said the “character of our country is on the ballot” in November’s midterm elections. He also cited Trump’s promise to pass a tax cut before voters go to the polls.
“Congress isn’t even in session before the election!,” Obama said. “He just makes it up!”
In Milwaukee, Obama said: “Here’s the thing. Everything I say you can look up.”
In Michigan, he credited gubernatorial candidate Gretchen Whitmer for helping to expand Medicaid, saying, “Few people fought against it harder” than her Republican challenger, state Attorney General Bill Schuette, the Detroit News reported.
In 2016, the state supported Trump over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.
“I’m hopeful, Michigan,” Obama told the crowd in a 5,000-seat gymnasium. “I’m hopeful that despite all the noise, despite all the lies, we’re going to come through all that. We’re going to remember who we are, who we’re called to be. I’m hopeful because out of this political darkness, I’m seeing a great awakening."
In Milwaukee, Obama criticized Republican Gov. Scott Walker -- who is being challenged by Democrat Tony Evers -- for claiming that he wants to protect health care for those with pre-existing conditions, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported.
“What we have not seen before in our public life is politicians just blatantly, repeatedly, baldly, shamelessly, lying. Just making stuff up,” Obama said. “Calling up, down. Calling black, white. That’s what your governor is doing with these ads, just making stuff up,”
Obama held up Clinton’s email scandal as an example of the Republican Party’s hypocrisy.
“In the last election, it was Hillary’s emails. ‘This is terrible’ ... ‘This is a national security crisis,’” he said. “They didn’t care about emails and you know how you know? Because if they did, they’d be up in arms right now that the Chinese are listening to the president’s iPhone that he leaves in his golf cart.”
He also took aim at Trump’s promise to “drain the swamp.”
“In Washington they have racked up enough indictments to field a football team,” he said. “Nobody in my administration got indicted.”
Trump and Obama have escalated the level of criticism of each other in recent months.
Trump has criticized his predecessor for trying to downplay his economic record, boasting that he had a magic wand to expedite the economic recovery.
"I opened up our beautiful economic engine with Regulation and Tax Cuts. Our system was choking and would have been made worse. Still plenty to do!” Trump once tweeted.
Regarding immigration, which Obama and Democrats have criticized Trump's stringent policies, Trump cited a 2005 video featuring Obama making a statement against illegal immigration, accompanied by the comment "I agree with President Obama 100%."
Additionally, Trump has defended his foreign policy record, which he claims has made America stronger, such as his tough stance with China and pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal and other agreements viewed by some as not being in America’s best interests.
Obama’s criticism wasn’t just directed at Trump. He also scorned Republicans for trying to distract voters from critical issues.
Instead of talking about water in Flint, Mich., Trump is firing up his base by talking about "impoverished refuges 1,000 miles away," he said about the Honduran migrant caravan making its way toward the U.S.
But Obama has faced criticism over the Flint water crisis as well. Some accused the Environmental Protection Agency under his watch of not displaying a sense of urgency the situation demanded.
Many Obama supporters also criticized Obama after he took a sip of the city's filtered tap water, to convince residents that it was safe to drink.
"It was such a disappointing thing to see," filmmaker Michael Moore said, according to the Detroit Free Press.

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Florida seen as 'region of interest' in package bomb probe, sources say

Government officials confirm the investigation into the suspicious devices used postal markings to narrow its focus, describing Florida as a region of interest. Catherine Herridge goes in-depth for 'Special Report.'

Postal markings on packages with explosive material sent to prominent Democrats have helped federal investigators refine the focus of their investigation, with Florida described as a “region of interest,” two sources told Fox News on Thursday.
Later, during an appearance on Fox News Channel, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen confirmed that at least some of the packages originated in Florida. But investigators would not say whether they believe the suspect or suspects were still in the state.
"As you know some of the packages went through the mail, they originated, some of them, from Florida," Nielsen told Fox News "The president appropriately directed everyone within the United States federal government to work on this as quickly and expeditiously as possible to bring these people or person to justice."
New York and Maryland were also in focus, Fox News learned.
A government official noted what appeared to be thick, dark electrician's tape on the pipe bomb sent to former CIA Director John Brennan, care of CNN. The official said investigators are hopeful the black tape captured DNA, fibers or fingerprints.
On the mock ISIS-style logo on one mailing, two government officials said investigators believed it was designed to create confusion, not to indicate a connection to a known terrorist group.
Miami-Dade Police announced it was working with investigators as a "precautionary measure."
"Bomb Squad & K-9 Unit are currently providing assistance to our federal partners at the @USPS Opa-Locka mail facility as part of the ongoing investigation into suspicious packages located in other jurisdictions," the police tweeted.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news.
Former Vice President Joe Biden was the latest apparent target, with the FBI confirming two suspicious packages similar to the ones that triggered the original security scare were addressed to him in Delaware, along with one to actor Robert De Niro.
Other prominent Democratic figures including former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, liberal billionaire George Soros and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., all received similar packages. Another package apparently was sent to former Attorney General Eric Holder with the wrong address and then sent back to the return address, which was a Florida office for Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla.

Brennan's package was sent to him via the CNN headquarters in New York City, although he's an analyst for NBC.
Holder called the threats "disturbing" in an interview Thursday.
"It’s disturbing that political figures are having to deal with this issue. You know it’s personal, obviously, to me since one was addressed to me. But I’m also concerned about two former presidents who had things directed at them," he said. "We need to figure out who did it, and then figure out a way in which we can get beyond these kinds of things.”
President Trump responded to news of the devices Wednesday, saying: “The safety of the American people is my highest and absolute priority.” He continued, “The full weight of government is being deployed to conduct this investigation and bring those responsible for these despicable acts to justice.”
PACKAGE BOMBS TOUCH OFF WAR OF WORDS OVER POLITICAL RHETORIC
But a joint statement from House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., slammed the president’s words as “hollow.”
“Time and time again, the President has condoned physical violence and divided Americans with his words and his actions,” the statement read.
CNN president Jeff Zucker also released a statement hours after the network’s Manhattan building was evacuated. In it he condemned the administration for its “continued attacks on the media.”
He continued, “The President, and especially the White House Press Secretary, should understand their words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that.”
FULL LIST OF RECIPIENTS OF PACKAGE BOMBS
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders fired back on “Fox & Friends” Thursday, saying that Trump could not have been “more presidential” in his handling of the apparent bomb threats.  She said whoever is behind the attacks is “ultimately the person that is responsible.”

Trump 'deserves some credit' for foreign policy successes, ex-Clinton aide admits

A former Obama administration diplomat both praised and criticized President Trump's foreign policy during a forum Thursday at the University of Minnesota.
Jake Sullivan, who served as former national security adviser to Vice President Joe Biden and deputy chief of staff to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sat alongside former Vice President Walter Mondale at the university's Humphrey School of Public Affairs for the forum titled: "The Shrinking International Relevance of Donald Trump," FOX 9 of Minneapolis reported.
The discussion focused on the number of foreign policy initiatives enacted by Trump since taking office, including pulling the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Iran nuclear deal.
Sullivan, who now teaches international law at Yale Law School, credited Trump with his handling of North Korea, the Islamic State group and getting other nations to share more of the burden in policing the world.
“I think that the way the administration built the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea was a real positive," Sullivan said. "I think carrying forward the work that President Obama did against ISIS to the point now where we really have reduced ISIS’s capacity to threaten the United States, the president’s team deserves some credit for that."

“I think that the way the [Trump] administration built the maximum pressure campaign against North Korea was a real positive."
— Jake Sullivan, a former adviser to Joe Biden and former aide to Hillary Clinton,

“And I think the president is on to some things when he says other countries need to step up and share more of the burden," Sullivan added.
But other moves by Trump have damaged America's standing on the international stage, Sullivan said. He added that he has faith that the world -- particularly western democratic nations that want to push back against Russia and China -- will embrace American leadership once more after Trump leaves office.
“That means an American president and United States of America that is once again stepping up to be the leader of the free world,” Sullivan said. "And I think if we have a president who is committed to that, then absolutely there is huge hunger around the world to rally to solve big problems."
In an extended interview with the station, Sullivan said Trump has "come in sort of like a hurricane and he's destroyed a lot of the basic institutions of American leadership in the world" and "undermined our alliances and harmed our position in international organizations that help solve big problems like climate changes and nuclear weapons."

Trump mulls plan to bar entry of all migrants at US-Mexico border

President Trump is considering a sweeping executive order that would block migrants, including asylum seekers, from entering the U.S. at the southern border in a bid to stop the caravan traveling north through Mexico.
The White House, if it goes ahead with the measure, would issue new regulations restricting certain migrants from seeking asylum. The rules would effectively block most if not all the migrants who are taking part in the caravan, Politico reported.
The order would be akin to Trump's previous aggressive immigration-blocking executive orders, such as the travel ban aimed at halting people from some Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
Any attempt to block the entry of Central American migrants is likely to prompt legal challenges, though Trump is likely emboldened following a Supreme Court ruling earlier this summer that affirmed the president’s right to bar the entry of migrants who “would be detrimental to the interests of the United States.”
The plan for the executive order comes just in the final stretch before the upcoming midterm elections, with Trump trying to make the issue of caravan the defining topic as voters head to the polls.
"Every time you see a caravan, or people illegally coming, or attempting to come, into our country illegally, think of and blame the Democrats for not giving us the votes to change our pathetic immigration laws!" Trump wrote in a tweet Monday. "Remember the midterms!"
Democrats, while previously outspoken regarding Trump’s immigration policies, are staying largely silent on the issue, instead preferring to remain focused on tackling the GOP on issues like health care, saying it’s the winning issue this election cycle.
DEMOCRATS AVOID SPARRING WITH TRUMP ON CARAVAN AS MIDTERM NEARS
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrats in the country, slammed Trump in a statement earlier this week regarding the caravan of migrants, saying the president is “desperate” to change the conversation because “health care is the number one issue Americans care about.”
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey published last week, which surveyed people since the beginning of the caravan earlier this month, the issue of immigration isn’t the top concern for voters. It ranks below health care, which has consistently been viewed as the most important issue. Other key issues have been the economy, jobs and policies concerning gun rights.

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Legal drama threatens construction of Obama Presidential Center

A federal judge on Wednesday said he will make a decision for a trial date in December regarding the construction of the Obama Presidential Center. (Associated Press)

A federal judge in Chicago announced Wednesday that a trial date regarding a lawsuit delaying construction of the Obama Presidential Center in the city will be made in December, further shelving the project and potential hopes of breaking ground any time soon.
The federal judge said at the hearing that both attorneys will continue gathering information, according to Chicago's WGN-TV.
Proponents of the Obama center are currently embroiled in a lawsuit with an environment group called Protect Our Parks, which contends the project should not be built in Jackson Park in the South Side neighborhood of Chicago.

Obama Presidential Center model. (Obama Foundation)

The group is citing a principle known as the public trust doctrine, which protects some public land from development, but is generally applied to waterfront land, according to the Chicago Tribune. The city argues the center does not violate state law.
Another group of environmentalists argues that if the center were to be built on parkland, it would violate Park District code and state law by transferring the parkland to a private entity, the Tribune reported.
The Obama Foundation, which is managing the project, said the keys would be handed over to the city upon completion, thus making it publicly owned, according to the paper.
Another hurdle lies with the impending departure of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, who has been a proponent of the center but announced he will not be seeking reelection.
A similar incident happened with film director George Lucas, who decided to build his Lucas Museum of Narrative Art in Los Angeles after a legal battle in Chicago over the use of parkland, the Tribune reported.

Democrat doublespeak -- Senate hopeful Jacky Rosen of Nevada slams Pelosi in English ads, attacks Trump in Spanish

Rep. Jacky Rosen is hoping to unseat incumbent Sen. Dean Heller in Nevada. (Associated Press)

U.S. Senate hopeful Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, is looking to have it both ways -- slamming House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in English-language campaign ads while taking shots at President Trump in Spanish.
The Democrat’s political ads in English tout her bipartisan record in the House and portray her as a check on Pelosi, despite her voting with the top House Democrat 89 percent of the time in the 115th Congress.
“Jacky Rosen wrote legislation to improve veterans’ health care, and President Trump signed it into law,” a man in Rosen’s English ad says. “Rosen stood up to Nancy Pelosi to reform the VA.”
It adds: “Rosen gets things done because she works with both parties.”
But Rosen, who’s running to unseat incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller, has a radically different message in her Spanish-language ad that doesn’t mention Pelosi or bipartisanship and instead attacks Trump.
The ad shows fans of the Mexico national soccer team and a red card with the president’s face on it. The ad then declares that Rosen will stand up to Trump.
The stark difference between the ads was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Rosen told the outlet that the ads targeted different communities that care about different issues.
“In different communities, you go in and you try to meet people where they are and talk to them about issues they care about the most,” she said.
Another Spanish ad produced by Rosen’s campaign shows her Republican opponent as a friend to Trump who supports the plan to build a wall on the southern border with Mexico.
“Trump orders and Heller obeys,” the ad says in Spanish.
Rosen is in a dead-heat race to unseat Heller, who’s been consistently leading in the polls, though only by a small margin. The race is deemed a toss-up.
The race in Nevada is considered one of the key contests this election cycle, with Democrats doing their best to boost Rosen’s chances, considering Hillary Clinton won the state in 2016.
Former President Barack Obama campaigned with Rosen on Monday, just days after Trump visited the state to campaign for Heller. Former Vice President Joe Biden also visited Nevada to boost Rosen over the weekend.